Spin My Love (My Love #1)(19)

“What?” I ask him, knowing he wants to ask me something.

“When can I see the two of you again?”

I hadn’t really thought of this, to be honest. “Parker goes to kindy three half days a week.”

Tane sits up straighter. “How would you feel about me taking him on the days he doesn’t have kindy? Or picking him up from kindy?”

I clear my throat. “How about you take a week or two for him to get used to you a little more and then we can talk about it?”

He nods eagerly. “That sounds great.” I’m relieved that he isn’t offended by my hesitation.

“Good,” I say. “If it all works out then I’ll tell Gage that he doesn’t need to pick him up on those days, but for now I think we should take it slow.”

His pale-green eyes close. “Thanks for giving me this chance, Giselle.”

I sigh. “I was in the wrong too for keeping him from you. Yes, I tried to contact you, but I could have tried harder. I shouldn’t have assumed that you wouldn’t want to be involved in Parker’s life.”

He shakes his head. “I wasn’t a good person then, but I’m trying to be one now.” He glances towards the hall where Parker’s room is. “I want to be the father he deserves.” With that, he stands and walks over to the sink to wash his glass. “Can we talk about something?”

“About what?” I ask wearily.

“Money,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at me.

“What about money?” I ask, tilting my head in confusion.

He nibbles on his bottom lip. “I haven’t given you any money for Parker for the last four years. I want to set up an account for him.”

“Um, okay,” I say. If he wants to do that, he can go ahead.

“And for you,” he adds.

My body stills. “What do you mean, and for me?”

“I want to help you out. I have four years to catch up on.”

I shake my head dismissively. “I’m perfectly comfortable, Tane. I appreciate the thought though.”

He sighs, rubbing his forehead. “How did I know you would be stubborn about this?”

“Because you’re not stupid?”

“You did everything for him by yourself. You worked to support him …”

“Yeah, and?” I interrupt.

“And you shouldn’t have had to!” he growls, losing his composure. His chest heaves as he tries to gain control. “It should have been me taking care of both of you.”

“Let’s compromise. You open an account for Parker. That’s a good idea for his future, but you don’t need to open one for me, Tane. You have no reason to give me your money. Furthermore, I don’t need it.”

“Fine,” he says, putting his hands up. He doesn’t look too happy about it, but too damn bad. I don’t want or need his money, and he shouldn’t feel guilty. He didn’t know about Parker, and like he said, the timing wasn’t right back then anyway. In this instance, it looks like everything has turned out the way it should have.

“Can we talk about us?” he asks quietly, leaning his hip against the countertop.

“There is no ‘us’, Tane,” I say, narrowing my eyes on him. “We’re childhood friends turned co-parents.”

He’s silent for a few moments. “You came with me back to the hotel that night. You wanted me.”

My mouth falls open. I can’t believe he is throwing that in my face. If he wants to talk about that night—then fine. “It was five years ago. I did want you. As in, past tense.”

He flinches. “Giselle …”

“We’re friends, Tane,” I say. “Sure, at one point it looked like we were going to be more. You gave me my first kiss …”

“I remember,” he says, a faraway look in his eyes.

“And you said you would be back for me when you left. But you didn’t come back. You told me you loved me—”

“I’ve always loved you,” he cuts in.

“But now all we can be is friends.”

There is no way my heart is willing to be anything other than friends with this man. I put myself out there for him and look what happened. I don’t regret having Parker, not in the least, but that doesn’t mean my heart wasn’t broken in the process. Not just that, but I used to be a dreamer. I used to look up to Tane, think the world of him. I used to think there was something special between us, something magical.

A love that is usually only found in fairy tales.

Now I know, it was just the musing of a young and foolish girl. It wasn’t reality. Tane wasn’t my hero, and I wasn’t his princess. In fact, he didn’t even know it was me when we made love. Or should I say, when we f*cked.

It was making love for me, but I guess it was just mindless f*cking for him. After all, he had thought I was a stranger. An easy lay.

“What’s going on in that mind of yours?” he asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Just thinking about that night,” I reply on a sigh.

“What about it?” he asks.

“Never mind.”

“Giselle,” he says shortly.

“I was just thinking about how I thought it was the best night of my life, making love to you, but you didn’t even know it was me. You thought you were f*cking some random chick,” I say, unable to keep the bite out of my tone. Part of me feels embarrassed for being so open, but the rest of me wants him to know how he made me feel.